How To Use eMac As Monitor For PowerMac G5?

[Goftrey]

I'm on the look out for a PowerMac G5. This means I will have no use for the eMac and they don't have much of resale value, and I don't like having something in the cupboard gathering dust so I want to carry on using it.

So I was wondering if there is a way to use my eMac as a monitor for my G5?

Ta.

 

[zen.state]

Do you have rewiring and soldering skills? You would need them to do this.

Why do you desire one of the most unreliable Macs ever made?

 

[Goftrey]

Do you have rewiring and soldering skills? You would need them to do this.

Why do you desire one of the most unreliable Macs ever made?

iMac G5's... Now They're unreliable IMO.

As long as you try not to buy the liquid cooled ones I think they're as reliable as any other Macs. My uncle designed his website http://wetransfer.com on a G5, although I'm not too sure what program he used.

Anyway thanks for answer, it's a shame really... What about screen sharing? Would I be able to use a monitor temporarily to set up screen sharing and then use the eMac through that?

I've never used screen sharing and don't know what it does 100%, it was just a thought though

 

[zen.state]

What experience is your opinion based on though? Mine is based on direct experience with over 100 different G5 towers and not just what I read on the net. A 12x G5 cluster setup I put together a few years ago is not only 7 systems because the other 5 died.

The air cooled dual 2.0GHz is actually the most unreliable.

BTW.. you can't use screen sharing as a main display. I don't think you understand what that is. It's to remotely control a secondary or lower system.

 

[Goftrey]

Okay, thanks, this gives me a reason to buy a cinema display now, I've always wanted one

And my experience is first hand, my uncle has multiple computers, I used to go over his house a lot before he moved to Holland and used to fiddle around on all of the computers, and he always used to do his main work on his G5. I asked him over Facebook if he still has it and he said he does, but it's rarely used now as he has a MBP and an iMac...

One more thing, I think you've got to seriously chill out over a lot of these threads, we all know you're very knowledgeable on PowerPC's and that you have more experience with them than 99% of the people on here, but you seem to put everything in a blunt way in your replies, which people kind find rude, including me.

 

[Nameci]

Learn to understand zen, read between the lines and learn not to get offended by his post. You will pick some useful things from his post than being offended.

It is like a coach in a ball game, coaches are worst than zen. Get me?

 

[adcx64]

What experience is your opinion based on though? Mine is based on direct experience with over 100 different G5 towers and not just what I read on the net. A 12x G5 cluster setup I put together a few years ago is not only 7 systems because the other 5 died.

The air cooled dual 2.0GHz is actually the most unreliable.

BTW.. you can't use screen sharing as a main display. I don't think you understand what that is. It's to remotely control a secondary or lower system.

As a side note, the G5s probably died from constant 24/7 uptime ....xD

 

[zen.state]

Goftrey:

I have respect for you and have complemented you on your vids and such so I'm not sure why you think that. My goal in posts is to get to the info at hand.

The only reason I questioned your experience was to help gauge if you really knew what you're getting into because I still think you don't. Not all G5's are crap but you have a much higher chance of hardware failure with one. They have the highest failure rate of any Macs ever made and that includes the towers and iMacs.

You're young and I assume don't have a lot of money to waste right? Why not go for a more sure thing? A nice G4 tower combined with your PowerBook would be a perfect hardware arsenal and far far more reliable. I would even help you be just as productive with that combo than you could be with a G5 quad.

 

[adcx64]

I agree, go for a top of the line dual 1.42 or dual 1.25 MDD. These things are a real powerhouse and mine only cost me 105.

 

[Nameci]

Goftrey, I fully agree with them. Although my powermac G5 has been running without any issues, but PM G5's have serious reliability issues. I am just fortunate I got a stable machine and have a bit of money to burn. If you really wanted a stable machine, powermac G4s are built like a tank.

 

[chrismacguy]

Goftrey, I fully agree with them. Although my powermac G5 has been running without any issues, but PM G5's have serious reliability issues. I am just fortunate I got a stable machine and have a bit of money to burn. If you really wanted a stable machine, powermac G4s are built like a tank.

Ill add my voice to the agreeing pile. While I love my G5 to death (its my loaner machine), they are likely to fail. Unless you can get the G5 for free (or close to), its not really worth the potential hassle compared to a nice Dual 1.25/Dual 1.42 MDD G4.

The Cinema Displays however are a really good investment. I love the various Cinema Displays Ive had over the years and their fantastic - I especially like the 23" Acrylic HD ADC ones for G4s/early ADC capable G5s.

 

[Goftrey]

Okay guys, sorry Zen if I went over the top. You give very good answers, as Nameci said, ''learn to understand Zen''

Anyway I've never really looked into MDD's before but have just researched on them for a 1 hour or so. I have no experience with one before and have never even seen one in person before, but they look like great machines for the price!

I know they're popular on here so if anyone has one and/or has had one in the past, share with me how they fair?

Anyway there's not many going in the UK, only 4 or 5 that are decent. The one I'm keeping an eye on is a dual 867mhz with 1.5gb RAM, 80gb HDD, Combo, Tiger & Leopard.

Would this be a big speed boost compared to my 1ghz eMac?

Thanks again...

 

[thekev]

Okay, thanks, this gives me a reason to buy a cinema display now, I've always wanted one

And my experience is first hand, my uncle has multiple computers, I used to go over his house a lot before he moved to Holland and used to fiddle around on all of the computers, and he always used to do his main work on his G5. I asked him over Facebook if he still has it and he said he does, but it's rarely used now as he has a MBP and an iMac...

One more thing, I think you've got to seriously chill out over a lot of these threads, we all know you're very knowledgeable on PowerPC's and that you have more experience with them than 99% of the people on here, but you seem to put everything in a blunt way in your replies, which people kind find rude, including me.

Not all of them die quickly, but the G5s overall were completely unreliable. It annoys me that Apple sold them for so long, and didn't fix some of the fundamental flaws with the design (not all of it was on IBM).

Anyway there's not many going in the UK, only 4 or 5 that are decent. The one I'm keeping an eye on is a dual 867mhz with 1.5gb RAM, 80gb HDD, Combo, Tiger & Leopard.

Would this be a big speed boost compared to my 1ghz eMac?

Thanks again...

By today's standards none of these are very fast, but it's all relative to what you do on it. I don't see a point in investing large amounts of money into dead technology. The reason the G4s are favored is because either is completely trumped by even a macbook air or mini in every possible aspect, but the G4s are at least reliable machines where the G5s were like a big FU from Apple. If speed is a significant factor to you, I'd suggest a newer intel machine.

Apple is also pretty hit and miss on displays. Many cinema displays fail long before the backlight dims to nothing. I prefer NEC. They do drift over time just like Apple displays, but they are practically immortal unless you get a bad unit out of the box. I find the trend toward disposable electronics to be quite irritating as I prefer to determine when to upgrade by suitable features or advancements rather than because my old one broke.

 

[Nameci]

If you can snag a dual 1.42 for cheap, go for it, they have fw800 port, with gigabit ethernet, airport 802.11g and bluetooth as well for options. Two optical drives, 4 HDD drive caddys.

I have two of these, only downside is the noise from the psu fans. But they are really built like a tank

 

[zen.state]

Would this be a big speed boost compared to my 1ghz eMac?

A dual 867 would be noticeably faster. In general use about 40-60% faster. Like Nameci suggests I would get a dual 1.25 or 1.42. They would be maybe 20- 30 pounds more and well worth it. The faster MDD can easily keep up with lower dual G5's like a dual 1.8.

 

[Nameci]

There is nothing wrong with the dual 867, it is just that the latest of the powermac G4 runs on a slightly faster bus at 167MHz and uses a faster ram than the earlier MDD's.

I have basically 3 of the late MDD, one is a single 1.25GHz educational which I upgraded to a dual 1.42GHz, this was shipped to my daughter which is 8 years old and for her age it is more than what she wanted and needed. I have apple pro speakers on it and it sounds great. The other dual 1.42 was given to the girlfriend, that machine machine was full option with airport extreme and bluetooth. Both machines I have installed USB PCI card for USB 2.0. Both have 3 hard drives in it and two optical drives. The other MDD left is serving as a spare part powermac.

On a Powermac G5 you are limited to 2 bays for HDD unless otherwise you would get a SATA card and the "jive" to add more disks on it.

So that is why we recommend a G4 rather than a G5. Other than an aluminum case, which is beautiful to look at, in terms of reliability the PM G4's are a good choice. And also they are much easier to work into.

Going back to topic, no you cannot use an emac as a monitor to a powermac G5.